Presented by : Betty Hutchon, MRCOT DSc (Hon)

This Webinar will be presented on Wednesday November 4, at 4pm US Eastern time.

High-risk infants need early intervention that addresses the full breadth of their developmental and relational needs. In this presentation, occupational therapist Betty Hutchon shares how her learning through Dr Brazelton’s work and the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS) led her to look beyond physical development—and helped shape a new approach to early intervention.

Brazelton’s recognition of the newborn as an active social participant, whose behaviour reveals individual strengths and ways of communicating and regulating, profoundly influenced Betty’s clinical practice. Her journey became one of translating these insights into work with high-risk infants, whose developmental vulnerabilities and less easily understood behavioural cues can present particular challenges for practitioners and parents.

Developed with parents and multidisciplinary colleagues, Ei SMART brings Sensory, Motor, Attention and Regulation, and Relationships Together within a holistic, evidence-informed clinical reasoning framework. It integrates neurological and psychological perspectives, placing social-emotional development, parent–infant relationships and parental wellbeing alongside physical development.

From its origins in clinical practice, Ei SMART has grown through training, adoption by UK teams and increasing international interest. Its appeal across professions and countries reflects a shared need for an integrated approach that connects evidence with everyday practice and values parents as partners.

Through reflections and clinical examples, Betty will explore how this translation informed intervention, practitioner education and changes in services. Her story illustrates how clinical curiosity, collaborative leadership and co-production can extend the influence of Brazelton’s work, helping practitioners broaden what they observe, what they prioritize and how they support high-risk infants and their families.

Betty is the CEO and founding member of the charity Ei SMART – a pioneering, holistic, evidenced based framework for early intervention with high risk infants. www.eismart.co.uk.

Betty trained as an Occupational Therapist in Belfast and worked clinically for more than 40 years as a neonatal and neurodevelopmental occupational therapist in London. Up until January 2023, Betty was also head of department for Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and neonatal SLT for Children and Young People in the Royal Free London Hospital NHS Trust.

Betty and a psychologist colleague founded the Brazelton Centre UK www.brazelton.co.uk in 1997 where she is a master trainer. Betty is also an international trainer for the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development for Pearson UK and was part of the development and consultancy team for Bayley III and Bayley 4.

Betty is co-author of the course, ‘Early Assessment and Early Intervention for High Risk Infants’ which is a 6 day course for physiotherapists, OTs and SLTs. This course is now in its 26th year and had been taught all over the world and is now known as the Ei SMART baby course.

Betty is an advanced practitioner for the General Movement Assessment (Prechtl et al).

Betty says as her skills and knowledge grew over the years and influenced hugely by Dr Brazelton and colleagues’ work, she became concerned about parents’ experiences of early intervention and this led her to develop the Ei SMART framework.

Betty is currently CEO of Ei SMART and is devoting most of her time to the advancement of evidence based, early intervention, co-produced with parents, as well as being a hands on Granny to 2 adorable grandchildren aged 3 years and 3 weeks!

Reference:

1. Hutchon B, Gibbs D, Harniess P, et al. Early intervention programmes for infants at high risk of atypical neurodevelopmental outcome. Dev Med Child Neurol 2019;61:1362-7.